“For the first time in a stand-alone paperback comes Stephenie Meyer’s Life and Death, a compelling reimagining of the iconic love story that will surprise and enthrall readers.
There are two sides to every story….
You know Bella and Edward, now get to know Beau and Edythe.

When Beaufort Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edythe Cullen, his life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With her porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edythe is both irresistible and enigmatic.

What Beau doesn’t realize is the closer he gets to her, the more he is putting himself and those around him at risk. And, it might be too late to turn back….

With a foreword and afterword by Stephenie Meyer, this compelling reimagining of the iconic love story is a must-read for Twilight fans everywhere.

Twilight has enraptured millions of readers since its first publication in 2005 and has become a modern classic, redefining genres within young adult literature and inspiring a phenomenon that has had readers yearning for more. The novel was a #1 New York Times bestseller, a #1 USA Today bestseller, a Time magazine Best Young Adult Book of All-Time, an NPR Best Ever Teen Novel, and a New York Times Editor’s Choice. The Twilight Saga, which also includes New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella, and The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, has sold nearly 155 million copies worldwide. ”

I was one of those who read Twilight early on before the movies came out. I was a huge fan in high school, but with each consecutive reread I see many flaws. When Life and Death came out I was interested to see how this story would pan out with reversed roles. I was very disappointed in the outcome.

Starting off this was a very intriguing story, but my interest did not last very long. I started it the day I bought it, which was March 10th but couldn’t bring myself to finish it until the fifth of May. It took almost two whole months to get through!

In the beginning, the story kept confusing me, mostly because I have read and reread Twilight about 6 times. The characters were ingrained into my head, so switching everything up confused me a lot throughout the entire story. I know the whole point of this switched gender roles was written to dispell remarks that were written about Twilight, but I’m not sure it succeeded in that feat.

SPOILER TO THOSE WHO HAVEN’T READ THIS BOOK!

The Alternate ending irked me! Immensely! In Twilight, Bella is not given a choice on whether she wants to be a vampire or not, Beau, in Life and Death, is given one. This is not proving equality in the slightest! GAh! If she was trying to prove something here she should have stuck with the same ending!

Last note, all the scenes that can be construed as super creepy in Twilight were still super creepy in this novel!

I would not really recommend this one, I have so much anger over it.

About the Author

“I was born in Connecticut in 1973, during a brief blip in my family’s otherwise western U.S. existence. We were settled in Phoenix by the time I was four, and I think of myself as a native. The unusual spelling of my name was a gift from my father, Stephen (+ ie = me). Though I have had my name spelled wrong on pretty much everything my entire life long, I must admit that it makes it easier to Google myself now.

I filled the “Jan Brady” spot in my family–the second of three girls; however, unlike the Bradys, none of my three brothers are steps, and all of them are younger than all the girls. I went to high school in Scottsdale, Arizona, the kind of place where every fall a few girls would come back to school with new noses and there were Porsches in the student lot. (For the record, I have my original nose and never had a car until I was in my twenties.) I was awarded a National Merit Scholarship, and I used it to pay my way to Brigham Young University, in Provo, Utah. I majored in English but concentrated on literature rather than creative writing, mostly because I didn’t consider reading books “work.” (As long as I was going to be doing something anyway, I might as well get course credit for it, right?)”

2 thoughts on “Review: Life and Death”

Honestly this book just sounds like it was a money making scheme. I saw this book at the book store and I honestly was just like “reaaallly?!?!”. Does this mean she is going to write sequels for this one as well? Great review, you have saved me from reading it 🙂

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My name is Shannon Buchanan, and this is my reading blog. As I read a lot I figured I would share my favorite, and not so favorite, books with the internet. I don't think of myself as much of a writer, but I do enjoy writing about books.